KUALA LUMPUR – For activist Roshinee Mookaiah, the last straw came on March 2.
A constitutional amendment to cap the prime minister’s tenure to 10 years was expected to be passed that day, given that the Anwar Ibrahim government enjoys a two-thirds majority in Parliament.
However, the bid fell short of the 148 votes required by just two “ayes”, and the absence of 32 MPs, including eight government backbenchers, was seen as a key factor.
Parliamentary absenteeism has long been a bugbear for Malaysians, but this time, Ms Roshinee, 32, decided enough is enough and is pursuing a little-known avenue to force MPs to improve their attendance: a parliamentary petition.
She has the help of a few friends, and needs to collect 500 signatures from Malaysians and find an MP willing to sponsor the petition’s tabling in Parliament.
“I don’t have any funding. We spent a few hundred ringgit of our own money to make placards and print out stickers and the sheets to collect the signatures,” she said after braving both the sun and rain on April 18 in front of Merdeka Square in the centre of Kuala Lumpur.
At present, if Malaysian MPs are absent for a period of six months, Parliament can, but is not required to, declare their seats vacant.
The petition calls for stricter guidelines – reducing the permissible time span for absenteeism, citing examples like Singapore and Australia where seats must be vacated if the MP is truant for two months – and disciplinary action including cutting salaries and allowances for not attending parliamentary sittings.
Despite promoting her petition – dubbed “Dilarang Ponteng Parlimen”, meaning no skipping Parliament – only on her social media accounts, Ms Roshinee and her friends secured 425 signatures in the seven hours they were stationed beside the historic Sultan Abdul Samad Building in front of Merdeka Square on April 18.
